Remembrance
by Clio S.S
Summary: It's serene moonlit night, and Inspector General Sengoku has an unexpected guest.


It had been uncommon for Sengoku to go to sleep early, and he continued with that routine even now, after his retirement - or that was how he liked to call it. Actually, he still served the Navy as the Inspector General, yet it would engage a lot less of his time. When on active duty, the amount of work simply had made it impossible to go to bed at some decent time. (And he'd always envied Kuzan the ability to sleep standing up). Now, however, he'd found out that waking on the long evenings could be pleasant, too. Sitting on the veranda with a pot of good tea was more relaxing than anything. Why should he sleep when he didn't have to?

He still hadn't got used to the luxury of being home. For decades, he would merely visit here during those rare holidays he'd allowed himself... or had been forced onto by his adjutant and the admirals, which would happen much more often. It was the Navy Headquarters that had been his home all those years, and after retiring it had taken a while until he had become accustomed to this building, to this furniture, to this garden; until he'd started to feel at home here. Nowadays, he would occasionally feel almost guilty because of the comfort of living... or, rather, because of his indulging in the daily life and enjoying it to the fullest.

The island was of a mild climate, and the nights were warm, perfect to spend them outside. For most of the year, the air would smell of flowers, although Sengoku could always feel the salt in the wind, too. And even though it was hens and cocks from the farm nearby that waked him up in the morning, he could also hear the scream of the gulls from the bay far away. The hum of the waves he certainly couldn't hear... But when one had spent some dozens of years in the Navy, they simply had the sea in their blood. And in their head. And in their heart.

Tonight was a splendid evening. The sky was cloudless, with a full moon reigning over it. The moonshine painted the night in the deep navy blue colour as well as exposed the lines of the buildings and plants. The heads of hollyhocks, coated with silver light, were swaying noiselessly by the fence. By night, the perspective would lose the third dimension, and it seemed the world was but a painting, yet the sounds coming from everywhere could fill the reality and give it some volume. The crickets were chirping in the grass, a cat could to be heard, as was an owl. Every now and then, a dog barked in the village. Having spent decades in the roar of cannons and clash of swords, such sounds of nature were soothing for his senses. Of course, it had taken months for Sengoku to stop listen intently to his surroundings and look out for an enemy; still, a few months was better than the rest of his life, wasn't it?

Nevertheless, his senses were still sharp, as was his Haki. He didn't hear a noise - maybe it was just a shift in the air, a colder gust in the warmth of the night - yet he knew right away that someone had appeared just in front of the house, as if they had _teleported_ there. He kept drinking his tea, mildly interested in the unexpected guest as such late hour. He had no sense of danger. When a man was reaching eighty and had spent vast of his years in the army, an ability to feel anxiety seemed but a distant memory. It wasn't about his skills, rather the acceptance of the fate. Like they said, 'He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword ', and as far as he was concerned, he'd been long ready to meet his end.

However, as the guest - although it was more proper to say 'the intruder' - didn't move and only kept standing there, by the front door, as if they couldn't decide on their next action, Sengoku felt his curiosity grow... accompanied by an unfounded sympathy towards the person and their confusion. Then he came to the conclusion he had indeed turned presumptuous if he treated a potential enemy in such a patronising way. But, wasn't it a vice of all old men...?

"I'm in the back yard," he called. "If you feel like, come and have some tea with me."

He could imagine the consternation of the intruder and nearly chuckled, which nowadays came much easier to him. Even if the stranger had some superior skills, they couldn't have expected to be received like that by the person they'd decided to visit at midnight. Sengoku thought he was getting more and more curious about the mysterious guest - but his curiosity was to be satisfied soon enough, for the next moment a tall figure emerged from behind the corner without as much as a noise. When silver light touched the stranger, Sengoku noticed he was not a stranger at all... although he recognised the man even before the moon exposed his face.

"I have no bad intentions," said Trafalgar Law quietly, calmly and firmly, and with no emotions whatsoever.

"Of course you don't," Sengoku replied, involuntarily finding the pirate's greeting endearing, although at the same time the sight of him evoked some warning sensation in his chest. Yet, it didn't warn him of any harm... not physical, at least. "Villains are hardly that tactful."

"Tactful?" now there was a slightest hint of a surprise in the pirate's composed voice.

"Why, you could have teleported inside the house," Sengoku pointed. "An assassin would undoubtedly do so."

Trafalgar didn't respond, only kept standing without move in the same spot, keeping the safe distance of several metres.

"Then, we've already ascertained you're not an assassin... though you're still a pirate," Sengoku spoke as the silence prolonged. "What kind of business may a pirate have with a retired Fleet Admiral, and at such time of day?" he asked, although he thought he knew the answer... had known it from the very moment he'd recognized that tall figure as an infamous 'Surgeon of Death'. "Might you, by any chance, come to finish the conversation that was so impolitely interrupted by Admiral Fujitora in Dressrosa?" he said. "That's very kind of you."

Trafalgar still wouldn't even stir, yet his bright eyes flashed in the darkness. Sengoku remembered what he'd said upon their last meeting, 'You, a pirate, are the only person I could talk about Rosinante with.' It could be that Trafalgar felt the same.

"You're not a talkative one, are you now?" Sengoku pointed out, amused, as he got no answer again and almost began to doubt whether the pirate had come here to have a talk. "Is it what you took after my rebellious foster son?" he asked, welcoming like an old friend a dull pain in his chest that would always appear upon the memory of Rosinante.

This time, Trafalgar replied right away, "Far from this. I'm positive I haven't said as much in my whole life as he... as he managed in just half a year," his voice was impassive, but something trembled in his words.

"Really?" Sengoku asked, now genuinely amazed. "He talked with you so much?"

Trafalgar pulled his hat over his eyes. "He talked all the time," he muttered reluctantly. "Most of the time, he would jibber-jabber... I tried not to listen."

Sengoku laughed softly, wiping the corners of his eyes with his hand. Although he tried to contain his enthusiasm, he was already looking forward the conversation that unexpected guest gave him chance for. There wasn't much tea left, but if he rose and left now, Trafalgar Law might as well change his mind. He seemed a rather distrustful person... Well, at least more distrustful any pirate would be around the Marine officer. Thus, Sengoku chose to stay where he was and refrain from offering his guest any beverage. If needed, they could have a snack later.

"Now that's a surprise... I have trouble imagining Rosinante as a talker," he admitted and then decided the information should be rewarded with another, for he wanted to be fair. "All those years here, he was a calm and quiet child, and then a calm and quiet man. But, ah... Four years of enforced silence must have been hard. No wonder that, once he no longer had to pretend he was a mute, he wanted to make up for all that time."

It seemed to him that Trafalgar's fingers clutched tighter on the long sword, although it was the pirate's only reaction to his words.

"Of course, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be as natural around someone he wouldn't trust," he added smoothly, feeling a need to correct. "He must have felt good with you if he allowed himself such talkativeness."

"Are you not going to seize me?" Trafalgar asked, ignoring altogether his goodwill. "Not that I would let you," he stipulated right away.

Sengoku was in a good mood, so he wouldn't feel offended by such a brusqueness. Apparently, Trafalgar wasn't someone who could be easily influenced. Well, if he were someone to be convinced by mere words, he would have remained just a little fish in the sea and certainly wouldn't have reached his position nor gained such fame. Then again, Sengoku wouldn't have got far, either, if he'd been too cautious around pirates or treated them with unnecessary respect.

"You wouldn't let me seize you," he repeated Trafalgar's words. "That's what I think, so I won't try. Is it enough for you?"

The pirate said nothing, but he came closer half a step; he must have found that argument lucid. Sengoku stifled his smile; he had trouble treating the man seriously. When someone lived nearly eighty years, most people seemed but youngsters. That Trafalgar Law, how old could he be...? Surely not older than twenty-five...? It didn't matter that after defeating Kaidō of the Beasts his bounty went up some hundreds berry - in his eyes, he was almost a kid. On top of that, he came here to talk about Rosinante, which weighed in his favour... but, to tell the truth, Sengoku could sense no hostility from him. Caution, aloofness, yes - but not hostility. Even more, he was under the impression that Trafalgar treated him with some... respect?

It wasn't that after his retirement Sengoku stopped to despise the pirates, he just... When he no longer needed to shoulder all justice, when he no longer needed to set an example and make absolutely sure that the law was observed as strictly as it should, in some pirates he could see first and foremost people. And even people on the opposite side of law could be polite and charming, wise and reasonable, even funny. He didn't find it improper that he wanted to have a talk with a pirate, although he should put him under arrest instead. After all, he wasn't sitting here as a Navy officer, but an old man, admiring the full moon by a tea. And Trafalgar Law, without fail, didn't come here as a pirate... at least not in the first place.

"Then...? You still haven't said what brings you here," he noticed when the silence fell between them again. In fact, he just wanted to maintain that contact with his guest... and he really wanted to hear _that_ reply, _that_ request.

"That time, in Dressrosa... You said you didn't know what happened on... Minion Island... thirteen years ago," Trafalgar spoke in that emotionless tone of his, and yet something cracked in his voice when he uttered the name of that cursed place.

Sengoku was astonished again. "And you came here to tell me about it?!" He had been almost certain that pirate wanted to question _him_ about Rosinante.

"You said that we are the only people who remember _him_ ," Trafalgar went on, ignoring his words again.

Sengoku thought he should revise his initial opinion. True, the pirate wasn't someone easily influenced by words... but even less was he someone to beat around the bush. He would go straight to the point. Sengoku appreciated that trait... yet, if one lived as long as he had, at some point one started to belief that form was nearly as important as substance.

"You are truly polite," he stated. "Someone else would rather keep such memories to himself..."

Trafalgar shrugged. "They've been mine for half of my life already," he said dryly, "and I never... shared them with anyone. But if you don't want-"

"Of course I want," Sengoku cut in, then looked at the sky and sighed. "Even if it's been thirteen years already... long enough to forget... not a day goes by that I don't think of Rosinante. I told you he was like a son to me."

Trafalgar kept silent. Sengoku sighed again and run one hand over his hair. What they were saying sounded too chaotic.

"Maybe we should start again," he offered, giving up on his initial decision; after all, Trafalgar was his guest and should feel as one. "Sit down, please. Would you have some tea? It's leafy green tea with marigold petals, I have one more cup here... Or maybe you'd prefer something stronger?"

Trafalgar still wouldn't say anything - he completely ignored the offer of a drink, but Sengoku didn't regret it anyway - yet after another moment of deliberation he leaned against one of the pillars of veranda, some three metres away. It was then that Sengoku started to suspect that the reason for pirate's aloof and cautious attitude wasn't this meeting, but something existing much more deeper in his personality. Trafalgar Law was apparently that kind of a man who rarely let others close. Had he always been like that? Or maybe he... after what had happened?

He caught himself wondering about the young pirate's character, which didn't please him. Did it make any difference what kind of a person Trafalgar really was? he asked himself. His whole life, he'd been doing just fine without bothering about such things - personality of a pirate, honestly! - and he should follow that from now on as well...

But if Trafalgar had always been like that - an intrusive thought occurred to him the very next moment and he couldn't help it - then Rosinante undoubtedly had done a good job, breaking through that wall.

He felt like sighing again, but managed to check himself this time. "If you would like to tell me about my rebellious son, I'd be more than happy to hear you."

"Was he really rebellious?" Trafalgar asked with the lightest hint of tartness. "Not 'calm and quiet'?"

Sengoku felt the corner of his lips twitch. "No, he was a very good and polite kid, one to never trouble others. Because his tendency to broke things around him certainly didn't trouble anyone." Talking about Rosinante filled him with warmth that nearly soothed all pain. "I said 'rebellious' because, against my advice and request, he insisted on taking the most dangerous mission and wouldn't be persuaded otherwise... On the other hand, it was so like him. He knew Doflamingo better than anyone else and felt responsible for stopping him. His sense of duty wouldn't let him leave Doflamingo be, no matter how I tried to get it out of his head... He was rebellious, but he was also one of the kindest people I've ever known."

"I know," Trafalgar said, and it was the first time the pirate related spontaneously and directly to his words. It bode well for this conversation, but what drew Sengoku's attention even more was the gentle tone of the pirate. "Still, I often wonder if he... if he hadn't been so kind, wouldn't he be better off," he muttered. "But it was all my fault, right from the beginning..." he stated, and his voice turned colder again.

Sengoku shook his head. True, there was no need to care about the man's belief, but... "I think there's no point in talking about fault, after all those years," he said firmly. "Rosinante decided on his own actions alone," he said and really believed it. When the pirate said nothing, he asked gently, "He took you from the Donquixote Family, didn't he? He was searching a cure for your disease...?"

"He saved me...!" Trafalgar corrected with annoyance Sengoku hadn't expected of him... and yet he should have, since it was the very same way the pirate had reacted upon their previous meeting. Now in his voice, so cold just a moment ago, were genuine emotions. "He saved me in every possible way... He gave me life and heart," he repeated his words from Dressrosa, words that might sound theatrical... yet they didn't. "But if I hadn't acted like a total git, everything might have been different. That time, when he told me the tru... part of the truth, I threatened him to tell Doflamingo everything. It was what provoked him into taking me and setting on that crazy journey," he added bitterly.

Sengoku looked at him in astonishment, but the pirate's face was hid in the shadow. He hadn't expected Trafalgar to feel guilty about something that happened long ago, and yet what the man said sounded exactly like that. "Rosinante decided on his actions himself," he repeated. "Believe me, I wish he was still alive, but... It's no use to cry over the past." What he left unsaid was that, hadn't the two set on that journey, Trafalgar probably wouldn't have sit here now. There was no need to say that, for the pirate must have known it perfectly well himself, at least judging from his reaction: he pulled the hat lower over his eyes and remained silent.

"And you really spent the next months seeking for the doctor that could heal your Amber Lead Syndrome?" Sengoku resumed the conversation after yet another moment of silence. It seemed that Trafalgar needed an encouragement to talk... but, fortunately, there was no need to extract _every_ word from him. The darkness around them helped, too.

"Yeah... Of course without any result. It was a hopeless plan, right from the start. There was no cure for the Amber Lead, it was stupid to believe we might succeed. But he was stubborn and wouldn't give up. As if it was the most important thing in the world. After half a year, I didn't get better, quite the contrary, so it was really pointless," the pirate said with emphasis, as if he tried to persuade someone. "Only..." He stopped.

"Only...?"

Trafalgar remained silent for another while, letting the silence be filled with the chirp of the crickets. "Only something _was_ better," he finally replied, so quietly it was but a whisper. Then, however, he asked in a more firm voice, "Did he smile often?"

"Rarely," Sengoku answered, a bit surprised by that sudden question. "As a child, he was rather earnest for his age. He wasn't gloomy, he just rarely showed his emotions."

"I remember how he smiled when... when I called him 'Cora-san' for the first time," the pirate said, and now his voice emanated warmth. "That was how all kids in the Family used to call him," he explained. "When I called him that for the first time... He was happy," he added softly, but then his tone hardened again, although it was impossible to say whether that criticism and reproach weren't, in the end, directed at himself, "He shouldn't have smiled like that."

Sengoku ignored that complaint. "It was that kind of smile that got straight to one's heart, right?" The very memory of it caused a funny feeling inside. "Yes, Rosinante rarely smiled, but once he did, it seemed like the sun came out from behind the clouds. Of course, he would break something or trip over the very next moment, which sometimes weakened the general impression."

Trafalgar nodded... and then sat down on the wooden panel, still keeping safe - comfortable - distance of three metres. He put his elbows on his knees and rested his forehead against his clasped hands. "We would sleep in the abandoned houses or camp," he resumed his story after a moment of deliberation... a moment of recollection. "We would sail in cloudless weather and during storm. We visited every hospital, he didn't miss any... He had many maps, with hospitals marked on them. Most of those hospitals... were damaged because he would go crazy when doctors screa... when doctors couldn't... help me."

Sengoku listened in silence. He knew well that Rosinante had created wide-spread panic, taking a kid with the Amber Lead Syndrome to the numerous hospitals and causing destruction. Not once or twice, Sengoku had had to use all his influence to calm down the situation; there was no need that Rosinante and the boy under his care feared the pursuit, in addition to everything else. Now that he thought about those incidents... Trafalgar talked about it without emotions, carefully choosing his words, yet Sengoku could imagine the behaviour of the frightened personnel: cries, curses, begging for mercy... What was new to him was Rosinante's reaction.

"He went crazy when doctors couldn't help you?" he repeated.

"Like a complete madman," Trafalgar affirmed with camp. "Patients didn't get hurt; the hospitals have the sprinklers... But hardly any doctor escaped unscathed. Ah, I'm sure he didn't want to _kill_ anyone, only beat them properly... But with that inhuman strength of his, it could have ended badly. Later, I did my best to stop him," he muttered. "Why, it didn't make any sense that he became so furious for me."

Sengoku said nothing; he tried to stomach what he'd just heard. Until now, he'd been sure that all those 'accidents' in the hospitals must have resulted from the very fact that Rosinante had had two left hands and two left legs and could set his environment ablaze without making a move... and that it had been misinterpreted as an intentional wrongdoing. It was just so hard to picture that calm and quiet Rosinante fly into a rage and go berserk... Maybe he couldn't accept his adoptive son being capable of such violence; at the very most, he'd decided that it was the stress accumulated during the years of undercover mission that had disinhibited him... And yet it really had been about him being angry - and because of one little boy... Because of Trafalgar Law, who was sitting here now, next to Sengoku. There was no point in making excuses, especially that none could make Rosinante better person he really had been.

"He just couldn't calmly witness you being hurt," he said and decided it probably had been exactly that; Rosinante hadn't forgot that he had once been a little boy surrounded only by hatred, himself.

Trafalgar didn't answer his guess... and that sole fact convinced Sengoku he'd been right to think his guest had once gone through hell. He felt a slightest compassion towards the boy from the White City. And he already, even before learning the rest, decided that Rosinante had passed an exam as a human being.

"Yet, before we reached the next hospital, he was already happy and optimistic again. And he believed that we would be well received there. Moron," Trafalgar said in a low voice, yet with obvious tenderness. "He would laugh all the time. Occasionally, he would even fool around to... He treated me like a little kid to cheer up. He shouldn't have smiled like that..." he repeated his words from before, but now there was no bitterness to them, only a melancholy. "And yet he kept smiling until the very end. My last memory... I mean, the last time I saw him... he still... smiled," he added, and something creaked in his calm voice again.

Then he felt silent for a longer while, clearly upset, although it might be told only from that speech that he'd almost cut short, for it had turned out to be more difficult to say he'd expected. Sengoku gave him time to compose himself, even though he wanted to hear more and was taking every word with greed. Actually, it was one of those moments he used to come to the conclusion that apparent order of the world and its rules - rules that divided people into good and bad, into righteous and wicked - could be shoved where the sun didn't shine. A Marine Commander destroyed hospitals and hurt doctors, a pirate spent half of his life in despair and mourning after he'd lost a dear person, and a retired Fleet Admiral just couldn't stop feeling sympathy for that very pirate. Was any of them bad or good? Was any of them right or wrong? That kind of thinking was pointless; what mattered here was only what they had meant to others and what good they could do.

Much to his astonishment, Sengoku realised he was grateful to Trafalgar Law that Rosinante could laugh around him; that one thing would be in the pirate's favour, even if he were the worst man in the world... which Sengoku didn't really believe to be true. His adopted son, who'd never stopped having problems with trusting others, wouldn't have done what he'd done for the worst man in the world. When Trafalgar resumed talking, Sengoku only strengthened in his guess.

"That time, half a year later... I treated him in an entirely different way," the pirate said quietly. His voice was calm again but, in contrast with the start of the conversation, now there was much more emotion in it. "I became attached. He became the most important person to me... No, the only important person; everything else became irrelevant. That's funny, isn't it?" he asked with a wry smile. "For two years, I wished he just vanished from the face of the earth, and then it took just a few months for everything to change. When we sailed for... Minion, to get Ope Ope no Mi, I could think only of his safety. Stupid, isn't it? Finally, there was a chance for me to be healed, to live... and all I could think of was that he was alright. Even when he returned with the Fruit, it mattered only that he _came back_ , safe and sound... I remember that. I remember he got almost mad at me when I totally ignored what he came with. But I just... didn't want to lose him," his voice neared a whisper now.

Sengoku kept listening in silence. He knew all too well what it meant to fear for another person... and 'fear' didn't really capture the scope of what might assume the proportions of demented terror. When Trafalgar went on, his voice was even lower and he would pause occasionally, but he didn't stop talking. It seemed something made him talk, even though he might try to contain it. Was it about the endless conflict of soul and mind? Heart wanted to speak, expel all those emotions from many years, while reason wanted to prevent it, knowing well the price of such openness. In his everyday life, Sengoku did well without psychology, yet now he was caught up in his guest's emotional state and analysed it. Maybe he was still feeling guilty about having been unable to really understand Rosinante.

"He looked after me. Took care of me. Was concerned about me. He wanted to help me. He was selfless and didn't give a damn about himself. I couldn't understand that. I couldn't understand why he did that. I couldn't understand why me. After Flevance, there was nothing good left in me. I was rotten to the core, I wanted only to kill and destroy. I tried to kill him, too, right after joining the Family... I hated him, and yet he took care of me and was ready to do everything for me. And when we arrived on... Minion, I only wanted him to stay with me. I only wanted I could stay with him. To spend the time I still had in his care. When we sailed there, I was so sick he had to hold me. I was pretty sure I was dying, I didn't think of Ope Ope no Mi at all... But I felt everything was fine, I felt safe... when he held me and was there. I remember we sailed through a storm, and he never let go of me," the pirate's voice was still but a whisper.

It was obvious that if he spoke louder, emotions would make it impossible to continue. Trafalgar Law had a reputation for staying rational in every circumstances and never letting his feelings take control, and not such a small group considered him to be cruel and devoid of empathy. All of the sudden, Sengoku felt like laughing them in the face... and found it a blessing that he no longer held his previous position. Seeing people in the pirates didn't affected one's well-being when they were a supreme commander of the Navy. He concentrated on the story again, for he didn't want to miss a word.

"When we came on... Minion, I was half conscious because of fever. It's strange I can remember everything so well... so clear. For years, I wished I didn't, I'd rather not to remember... but it was important. Everything that happened there is important. But there's one thing I wish I could forget. I'll be hating snow for the rest of my life," the pirate said with an obvious disgust. That sudden surge of repulsion seemed to invigorate him, for his following words were stronger and his voice was firm. "In my state, I would only hamper him... so he left me in the ghost town and went alone to the Barrels' place. To get Ope Ope no Mi. Since he'd learned about it some weeks before, he couldn't think of anything else, he was like an obsessed man. He decided to steel the Fruit, no matter what, and nothing could change his mind. And I stayed down there, fearing for him. I think I didn't really believed that Ope Ope no Mi could save me, so I didn't bother my mind with it... But Cora-san simply went there, bare-handed, and got it... He really snatched it, even though he was alone against the whole pirate crew. He didn't care about anything, wasn't bothered by anything, only realised his plan and was dead sure he would succeed."

Sengoku felt his heart beat faster when Trafalgar, for the first time, named the one they had been talking about. Cora-san... It sounded strange - and, for some strange reason, fitted. He wanted to hear it again.

"When he came back, he shoved it down my throat and was all happy... But he got hurt because those bastards tried to stop him. Yet he kept laughing...! I almost died of fear, and he just kept laughing...! He said he'd been careless and so they'd found him... He'd said he wouldn't die of that... but I was terrified... and not convinced at all, seeing how he was bleeding. And that's why..."

Trafalgar stopped. His shoulders fell, and he seemed to shrink. In the night, a hooting of an owl could be heard. The chirp of crickets never ceased.

When the pirate resumed talking after a longer while, his voice was trembling, "Cora-san asked me to deliver a message to the Marines... a container with the secret letter that probably contained all intel on the Donquixote Family and their detailed plans... He told me that Dressrosa could be saved by doing so... and once I was done, we would leave the island and hide. But I was certain that before we did he would die of his wounds... I knew a bit of medicine, and it didn't look well. So I asked the first soldier I ran into to help him. I hated the Marines, but just this once I wanted to put my faith in the Navy, for it was _his_ life at stake... If only I'd trusted my instincts... and believed what Cora-san had said: that he would be all right... Then I wouldn't have brought _Vergo_ to him," Trafalgar spat the name.

"Vergo?!"

That was something Sengoku hadn't seen coming. Of course, he'd learned from Smoker's report that the previous commander of G5 was, in fact, Doflamingo's man, sent into Navy to spy, but now was the first time he heard the man had been on Minion...! But, wait a moment... As they'd talked, Smoker had mentioned something that hadn't gone into official documents: that the one to cut down Vergo was none other than Trafalgar Law. Even more puzzles seemed to fall into places... As the story progressed, for a moment he wished his former subordinate was still alive, for he felt like making him die again in a very painful way. Such emotions didn't befit someone who wore a 'Justice' mark on his back... but were probably natural for a parent, and he didn't reproach himself for having them. No, he couldn't contain that feeling of gratitude towards his guest, who had taken care of the business that the Navy should have dealt with and instead failed miserably.

"Vergo had been given a task to infiltrate the Navy, but Cora-san didn't know about it. He only knew that Vergo was on some undercover mission. I had never met him, for he'd parted from the Family before my joining. When he stumbled across us there and recognised us... he almost beat us both to death. I have no idea how Cora-san did it, 'cause I was out cold, but he managed to grab me and run from him. But when I came to, Doflamingo was already on the island. He'd used his ability, that cursed 'Birdcage', to make sure neither of us escape from him. Ope Ope no Mi could give him eternal life, so he wouldn't let go of it... But Cora-san outsmarted him anyway. He hid me in the place where the Family would never think of searching me... and then let himself be caught, in order to help me escape. He decided it was the most important that I didn't fall into Doflamingo's hands. And, in the end, I did manage to get away... alone."

Trafalgar pulled up his legs onto the veranda. He hunched, pressing his face to his knees. Sengoku thought that one of the most powerful pirates on the Grand Line looked like a little boy, and felt like sighing.

"Cora-san promised he would be all right..." he heard a stifled whisper that might really belong to a little boy. "He promised that Doflamingo wouldn't hurt him... He promised that we would meet in the next town... But Doflamingo shot him in cold blood. I was there, next to him, although hidden. I heard everything, even though no-one could hear me because of Nagi Nagi no Mi... Cora-san couldn't kill his brother... but Doflamingo had no scruples about doing so. Until the very end, I believed that we would be fine... but then everything was over. And I never managed to thank him... to tell him... While he thought only of me, until the very last. His last words, last words to Doflamingo... to let me go for I was... free..."

Sengoku listened to it in silence... saddened, angered, astonished. He'd expected dry facts - especially from that particular man - and then had got a story filled with vivid and extremely painful emotions. He was almost confounded by that suffering he'd become such a close observer that nearly a participant... and could no longer deny that compassion he felt. Had Trafalgar said that he had never spoken about that...? So he'd been holding that despair inside for thirteen years? Of course, he had managed; had survived, accepted his loss, even executed his revenge... but now, listening to his story - no, listening to emotions and feelings in his voice - Sengoku couldn't resist the impression that this one wound had never healed.

Wasn't he like that, himself?

"Strange how it still hurts, isn't it?" he said, without really expecting a reply and got none indeed... except for that non-verbal that was all too clear.

The silence between the two of them was filled again with the sounds of the nature, yet the pain emanating from the pirate made it impossible to give in to the calm magic of the night. Still, Sengoku had lived nearly eighty years, and he knew nothing could be done about pain - except for accepting it. He supposed Trafalgar too knew that... and was very capable of doing so, but this very moment he'd just used all his inner strength. It was clear that reminiscences had shaken him more he'd expected. And since he hadn't spoken of those events before, then this talk must have been like reliving all that once again... like seeing a film before his eyes. Undoubtedly, what had happened on Minion had injured him for the rest of his life. And even if his abilities made it possible to cure any person and himself too of any bodily condition, wounds of heart weren't something that Ope Ope no Mi couldn't heal.

Sengoku realised he was feeling sympathy for the young pirate. Earlier, he felt gratitude, but now his emotions became much personal. Here, before his eyes, was someone who had lost Rosinante, just like he had. Even though they weren't related by blood, Rosinante was a family both to him and Trafalgar, and this conversation had made Sengoku understand he wasn't the only one mourning for his adoptive son. It was enough to bother - even if the two of them were to become enemies as soon as the next day - and he did bother, for someone else's suffering would always touch him more than his own pain, that he'd grown accustomed to and would treat like an old friend.

It was a good moment to offer some hard liquor. He left the pirate on the veranda and went to fetch some brandy. When he returned, Trafalgar was still sitting in the same position. Sengoku filled two glasses and shifted one of them towards his guest, who didn't even budge. Yet he was still here and wouldn't go, he hadn't taken his leave and returned to his world - he was sitting right here and breathing, hurt, exposed and beyond doubt living. Another human being.

"When I got the report from Minion, I was devastated," Sengoku said, sipping on his brandy, for it was clear that his guest needed some time. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to take everything from him and give nothing; now it was his time to talk. "Rosinante assured me he would keep away from Doflamingo. He'd never lied to me before, so I had no reason to even suspect he might be there... When a parent suddenly learns about their child's death... There's hardly anything worse than that, so-"

"You must hate me," the pirate said. "He died because of me."

If Sengoku hadn't been surprised until now - all this conversation had been surprising, both in form and content - he would undoubtedly feel so now. Trafalgar's words, full of belief, regret and disappointment, almost indicated the pirate cared about his opinion. So ridiculous.

He sighed. "I told you, Rosinante made his own decision. Actually, I don't think you really believe what you've just said. If you'd believed that, you wouldn't have lived those thirteen years. Rosinante didn't die _because_ of you, only _for_ you. You know that, don't you?"

Trafalgar remained silent. Sengoku stared at the enormous moon moving across the night sky. "Hate you? Would it change anything? No, Rosinante is dead, and no matter how much we'd like to, we just cannot turn back the time. No matter how much I'd love to have him by my side again, I must embrace the truth..."

He took a deep breath, realising yet another fact that made him feel better and worse at the same time. He had no idea what to do with it, and that was why it took him a while, and another deep breath, to resume talking. "Thank you for that story, for that truth," he said with calm confidence he already felt. "I'm really grateful. I think... Yes, I think it was fine. Even though there's nothing better than life... I think that if he died that way, then... it's fine." As if to back up those words, he nodded, although Trafalgar wasn't even looking at him. "You know, all those years I was certain Doflamingo had uncovered him and killed as a traitor... that Rosinante had died as a soldier on duty. I'd never fancy that he may have traded his life for someone else's, may have died to save another man... He always advocated justice. His brother's cruelty would always make him suffer, and he wanted to stop him, he was nearly idealistic about helping all people before Doflamingo's malice reached them... Yet, in the end, he died for the boy he cared for." He looked at the sky again, although what he thought of was another little boy he'd once met on moonlit night. "Yes, I think it's not that bad option... maybe the best of all," he repeated. "You know, Rosinante would always keep others at a distance. He was polite and friendly, and very helpful, but he avoided making bonds. And yet Rosinante you met was someone who didn't hesitate to sacrifice everything in order to save you, and no-one else. Trafalgar Law became more important to him than the life itself. It's something to be appreciated and respected."

Again, he looked at the young pirate, who hadn't moved from his spot. Sengoku took yet another deep breath... then, on the spur of the moment, reached and put one hand on his shoulder - in a fleet, unplanned gesture as if he wanted to say that Trafalgar was not alone - breaking the last barrier. He quickly removed his hand, for he didn't wish to invade the young man's personal space even more... and the lack of reaction was a peculiar reward.

"I'm glad you were there," he said sincerely. "That you were with Rosinante. He felt good with you, was happy with you, and that's more than enough. He laughed and talked with you. He cared for you and helped you. He protected you until the very end and wished you all the best. You did a lot for him, just by being there. And don't say that nothing good came of it, I don't want to hear such rubbish," he added emphatically. "I'm not going to contribute to your feeling of guilt, Rosinante wouldn't like that... You see, parents forgive their children everything. No, they usually don't even think there's something to forgive. And, respectively, children must forgive their parents the wish to protect them even at the price of one's own death. Love is the most selfish feeling... for the loved one can do nothing about it. No, Rosinante didn't die because of you," he repeated the most obvious thing. "I couldn't hate you, since everything that happens because of love immediately turns good," he said with confidence, no matter how pompous that might sound. In this world with so much evil in it, love was sometimes the only one rescue, and Sengoku wanted to believe... believed in it whole-heartedly.

Trafalgar finally lifted up his head and looked at him. In the dark of the night, his eyes were glistening. Sengoku felt relieved at that contact... although, which was quite irrational, he would do even more if the pirate stopped emanating such suffering. That required time, though... along with a few more kind words. Someone else might decide that Trafalgar - an adult man with that reputation - needed to be taken down a peg, not let snivel like a kid... but Sengoku remembered all too well his own tears upon learning of Rosinante's fate.

"Have you believed what I told you in Dressrosa?" he kept talking. "That you can't find excuses for someone's love? Can you believe that Rosinante saved you because you were dear to him? He didn't take care of you so that you defeated Doflamingo. He didn't save you to protect Ope Ope no Mi from his brother's clutch."

"How would you know?" Trafalgar asked hoarsely.

"Rosinante wasn't someone to plot or calculate the benefits," Sengoku answered simply. "He only wanted to help. And besides..." he mused, although it wasn't that the pirate's words baffled him. "Well, maybe you're right, maybe I'm just talking from my point of view, because just like he took care of you, I had taken care of him earlier, and I know I wouldn't hesitate to give my life to save him. What he did makes me feel proud, as a parent... although it's somewhat bitter pride, for sometimes I'd rather have him live in shame than die for ideals," he said honestly. "But since it'd already happened... at least I know he passed on something valuable."

Trafalgar looked ahead, his posture got a bit relaxed. It seemed he was breathing more easily now. Finally, he lifted his face, letting the moonlight into his eyes. He blinked several times and then wiped his face with his sleeve. Sengoku didn't rush him; sipping on his brandy, he silently supported him in that fight. He was really glad to see his guest regain his balance... He had that absurd feeling of having led another man to victory.

The night continued, rich in quiet, calm sounds of nature, warm after the summer day and intoxicating with smell of flowers, lit by that milky glow that hid and uncovered things in equal shares. The morning was inevitably to come, but now it still seemed but a distant dream. Sengoku thought he'd like to keep it away, make this magical moment last forever... He knew he would remember this night and this conversation until the end of his life.

"How..." Trafalgar finally spoke, before clearing his throat. "How did it start?" he asked quietly, and Sengoku felt glad upon hearing that request. "I knew nothing about him... I still don't. I hated the Navy and the Government, so he couldn't tell me the truth... although I suspected a thing or two. If I-" He stopped, probably realising that speculating was pointless.

"He was eight when I met him," Sengoku replied right away; he really wanted to tell about it. Again, his mind flew to that particular night... That time, he hadn't even suspected how much joy and sorrow he would experience because of that boy he'd decided to take in. He knew that, had he to choose again, he wouldn't hesitate a bit. "He was wandering around, all alone. It was clear he'd got through something terrible, although it took time before he told me anything. It was the first and the last time I saw him crying."

"Did you know he and Doflamingo were the Celestial Dragons?" Trafalgar asked in a firmer voice.

"He didn't even tell me his full name...! Only years later, when Doflamingo became famous, he confessed he was his brother... and nothing else. No, he told me nothing of that, but I started to suspect it myself, because the older he got, the more he differed from his peers. In the end, I managed to learn - which was not easy, for mortals shouldn't know about the affairs of Mary Geoise - that recently some members had been indeed removed from the Donquixote Family. The official version is that Rosinante's father had been forced into exile due to some crime, but in fact Donquixote Homing had decided to leave the Holy Land and live like humans on his own. When we met, Rosinante told me only that he came from far away, his mother had died of illness, and his father had been killed by his brother."

The pirate nodded and then sat straight. "It was exactly so, Doflamingo revealed that in Dressrosa," he admitted. "As for having killed his father, he mentioned it already thirteen years ago," he said more harshly. "He appeared to be aggrieved by that, as if he'd been forced to do so, but in fact he felt perfectly justified and almost boasted about having done so. He told his father had wronged him... had taken his powers away," he added with disgust that would always ring in his voice whenever he spoke of his archenemy. Then, however, he added more softly, "But Cora-san said their parents had been good people while Doflamingo had been a monster from the very beginning."

"Not hard to believe that," Sengoku muttered.

Trafalgar glanced at him briefly, before staring at the moon again. "Why did their father choose to leave Mary Geoise and live like humans?" he asked, hesitating.

Sengoku shrugged. "No idea. Maybe because he was a good man...?" he answered ironically; no person with morals could have a good opinion of the Celestial Dragons as a whole. "In any case, when I met Rosinante, his parents were already dead, and his only relative was someone he didn't want to have anything to do with. He didn't object when I took him in, but it took a great deal of time before he would talk to me, and there are things he never disclosed anyway. Judging from the scars on his body, he must have gone through tortures, apparently on numerous occasions."

"Doflamingo said he'd lived through hell," the pirate admitted reluctantly. "But Cora-san would never legitimate him, claiming his brother had been born evil," he added as if trying to justify his hatred and thus choosing the uncritical belief in his saviour's words, although Sengoku was the last person that would even want to absolve Doflamingo.

"It's not hard to imagine that humans wanted to repay all harm they'd experienced from the Celestial Dragons' hands... Even if Donquixote Homing was a good man, they saw him as one of their torturers, just as his family. When people finally got a chance for revenge, they wouldn't let it slip. Unfortunately, such is human nature..." Sengoku muttered. "But Rosinante never did as much as mention about all that. Maybe he felt ashamed, maybe he understood his persecutors, or maybe he simply feared to tell the truth. Having been persecuted for what he was, maybe he didn't want to be rejected again."

Trafalgar stared at him again, and this time his gaze was sharp and focused. Then he looked away and kept silent for a longer while, his mind clearly occupied with something. The despair filling him had subsided and no longer obscured his vision, although it seemed it was still luring on the edge of consciousness, waiting for the first moment of weakness to attack again.

"When he took me from the Family and contacted you to inform about aborting his mission," the pirate spoke, and his voice was unnaturally calm, "I questioned him if he was a Marine. He asked if I hated the Navy, and when I confirmed, he only said he wasn't one of them. I would question him about it every now and then, but he always denied. I thought he did that on purpose to keep me with him... but then... on Minion... In the end, when he told Doflamingo the truth, he apologised to me for having lied... and said he hadn't wanted me to hate him..." he added quietly. "I couldn't quite get it. How could an adult man care about what some kid thought of him...? It wouldn't cross my mind he cared about my opinion, especially that he always seemed self-confident like a fool and so convinced about all his actions... But it was really the case. He really didn't want me to hate him," he concluded despondently. "I wish I realised that..."

"Don't require too much of yourself," Sengoku interrupted him, for he would rather not have his guest get another spell of self-accusations. "Don't forget that Rosinante was capable of hiding his real emotions if he wanted to. Even if there was no false in his heart, he was very skilful in showing others a mask and letting them come to their own conclusions, that were not always true. As for what you said before... It doesn't really matter if you're a kid or an adult. If you experienced something like that, you sometimes prefer to hide the truth than expose yourself to contempt in the best case or rejection in the worst," he said.

The pirate nodded. "I know," he replied bitterly. "I know all too well."

Something made Sengoku add, "Then, can you understand he saw himself in you?"

Trafalgar nodded again. "Though he did what he did so that I didn't become like Doflamingo," he said in a low voice.

"And did he act right?" Sengoku asked slyly.

"If I say he didn't, you're going to lecture me again," the pirate answered sarcastically, looking at him askance, but then he became serious and added quietly, emphatically, "I'm grateful for everything he did, _everything_. During those thirteen years I had enough time to convince myself he hadn't died in vain. What you said, all of that... I'm perfectly aware of that. I just..." he paused, and when he resumed talking, his voice was but a whisper, "It's just so hard to stop feeling guilty... and forgive myself."

Sengoku nodded and sighed. Distractedly, he thought it didn't feel that unpleasant to so unanimously agree with _a pirate_. Then again... it didn't matter the slightest who they were, now. "I know... I've never ceased to berate myself for having not stopped him from undertaking that mission. Irrational, isn't it? He was a soldier, _every_ mission put him in danger... at risk of death. But after what you told me... I can believe that, when he met his end, he was happy. It's like a balm to wounds," he admitted. "And that's why I think you should forgive yourself and instead think of how much good you brought him."

"I never told him what he meant to me," Trafalgar whispered.

"Well, we can do noting about it now," Sengoku replied dryly.

"Maybe I'll find a way to bring him back to life," the pirate added and sounded perfectly serious about it. "Maybe there's a Devil Fruit capable of doing it."

Sengoku felt like rolling his eyes... but why should he belittle other people's wishes? "Have a try," he said instead, striving to speak in a most neutral voice.

Trafalgar grabbed the glass and drank brandy in one gulp. "I wish I could speak with him once more, tell him that... Tell him some things." He stared at the dark garden for a longer while before speaking again. "Tell me more. I hardly knew anything about him."

'You knew the most important thing,' Sengoku felt like replying yet remained silent and instead filled the man's glass again. When the pirate opened himself to him like he had, it would be mean to reply to his sincerity with brusqueness, and Sengoku never wanted to be a mean person. He suddenly thought it was entirely different Trafalgar Law than the one that had appeared here an hour ago. That cold arrogance that seemed to normally surround the 'Surgeon of Death' had vanished completely... Actually, arrogance wasn't the right word; rather, it was wariness and need to keep people at distance. Apparently, Sengoku had passed a test, since the pirate had laid down all his barriers around him and was still here instead of leaving some time ago. For some reason, it gladdened him.

'Tell me more'. Well, it was rather vague request... What it was Trafalgar wanted to know? Everything? Anything? Sengoku could talk about Rosinante for one month straight, and he would still not exhaust a topic. Again, he felt a surge affection at the memory of his adopted son and returned to the very first years he spent with him.

"Like I told you, he wouldn't trouble anyone. He was a kind and calm kid, though so clumsy it was hard to describe it."

"And he never grew out of it," Trafalgar supplied.

"He had two left hands and-"

"...two left legs," the pirate ended. "He was able to fall over-"

"...even when sitting," they said in unison.

Sengoku tried to contain laughter, and the quiet snort he heard indicated Trafalgar did the same. Sengoku welcomed that change in the mood with relief. It wouldn't be good if Rosinante provoked people only to sadness.

"I always wondered how he'd managed to live into adulthood," the pirate spoke, and there was no suffering in his voice anymore. "And how could he be a soldier, in the first place."

"I think it will remain one of the greatest mystery of this world," Sengoku replied merrily, wiping the corners of his eyes. "But thanks to that, all recruits in his class developed a considerable psychical endurance to sudden and unexpected events. They had to be constantly on guard, for things was always burning or collapsing around Rosinante. It was a good survival training, even before they were sent to a real battle," he said, smiling.

"In Family... He treated us terribly. Everyone thought he just hated kids, he was really convincing in it... but in fact he tried to make us leave. In any case, it was a real survival and training. When we first met, he threw me out of a window!" Trafalgar said with camp, then drank from his glass and murmured, "It made me hate him right away."

"He was... ah... quite brutal in his methods," Sengoku admitted, although more with humour than compassion. "But I'm sure he didn't want to hurt you."

"And he didn't," the pirate replied in the same tone of reluctant affirmation. "He must have known his strength the best and how far he could go. And, hard to believe as it is, he'd never even hurt anyone through his clumsiness, though someone sensitive might have ended with heart attack. But there were no sensitive people in the Family," he muttered and then shook his head, as if he didn't feel like thinking of it now. "I'm trying to remember his greatest feat... but I can't. I'm under the impression I stopped noticing his clumsiness at some point..."

"One ceased paying attention, right? That clumsiness became his integral part, such a natural way of manner that you no longer noticed it. His greatest feat, hmm..." Sengoku mused, but then another memory occurred to him. "Well, maybe not a feat itself, rather a whole situation: he sat for his officer exam some five times and they even wrote a feature article about it for the Navy magazine... You see, some people would treat him as a kind of a mascot, which didn't bother him in the slightest."

"Five times?"

"I think so... Though I'm sure that the story of him damaging the chair of the examination committee because he didn't noticed the man in the corridor is completely made up. As for the rest..." Sengoku strained to remember. "One time he didn't make it to the exam place because he's fallen into a trench when we were rebuilding the Navy Headquarters. And it was a deep trench, so he got a fracture or two... Another time he set the exam paper, and the whole room too, on fire. I think the best was when he tried to answer with Nagi Nagi no Mi activated. He forgot entirely he'd created a barrier earlier. The examiners must have thought he was making fun of them... alternatively they decided he was a total nut staying in his own world and talking to himself... I almost had to beg on a bended knee that they gave him one more chance, and I was at the edge of bribery, for they already were tired of him."

"That's Cora-san for you," Trafalgar commented warmly.

"But despite that clumsiness he was liked by his peers because he was kind and helpful," Sengoku added. "Sometimes he even let others use him, but it didn't seem to bother him. He respected other people. He kept his promises and was serious about his duties and obligations. He was decisive, nearly stubborn; when he made his mind about doing something, he couldn't be persuaded otherwise, not that those were any dangerous or harmful action. He always executed his plans, achieving what he strived for. He didn't doubt his decisions. He had a very strong will."

"Yeah, that sounds familiar, too," the pirate said in a lower voice.

"He was very smart," Sengoku kept talking. At this point, the words came easily, and there was no need to think what to say. "He had great memory, quickly processed the information and drew conclusions. He was a very good strategist; undoubtedly, he would move up high... Then again, he chose something else than a career in the army. He found something more important."

Trafalgar said nothing, only drank from his glass. Sengoku stared at his memories in which he could see a face - the serious face like on a photograph in the official files. He would often ask himself whether Rosinante would've been able to change anything if he'd advanced in the ranks... to make it that justice wasn't but a hackneyed slogan and a front for power struggle and use of violence... to connect those soldiers who saw their military service as _service_ itself, a mission with another purpose than one's own benefit... But in fact he found it difficult to imagine his adopted son holding such a rank... just as if Rosinante didn't fit there. He shook his head; such speculating was pointless.

"As I said, he kept others at arm's length, didn't open to anyone," he resumed talking as the pirate was still silent. "Even if he had some friends, those weren't very close relations. For a short time, he went out with a girl in rank of ensign... but I think he couldn't open his heart to her either, and in the end nothing came of it. When around others, he was the one to listen, not talk. Still, he wouldn't keep silent when he saw someone being hurt; he would act swiftly and protect the wronged one. More than anything, he couldn't stand when many persecuted one... Most of the time, however, he stayed in the background and didn't stand out."

"When with me... he would talk all the time," Trafalgar replied, and in his quiet voice was now some challenge... and some pride. "He would chatter, laugh and even cry. He could sweep me up in his arms and dance for joy like a total madman. He told me that he-" He stopped, and when he resumed, it seemed he was talking to himself, pensive, softly, "He told me something I couldn't believe, but it still made me happy. But I think that... now I can believe that. Just as you said, he wouldn't have done what he did because of some plans... because of D."

"He loved you," Sengoku said calmly.

Trafalgar pressed his lips and nodded. Then he blinked a few times and emptied his glass. "I bet he'd rather have me become someone else," he said in such an impassive voice that it sounded like a challenge, "but I chose this path myself."

"It's not too late to turn back from it," Sengoku suggested albeit without much conviction. "I understand you needed power to... defeat Doflamingo...? But now, when you've already achieved it...? I'm not telling you to join the Navy. Your dislike for the World Government and anyone connected to it is perfectly understandable. But you have extraordinary skills... You could do something else for living..." He stopped and asked himself whether he wasn't trying to give a criminal his blessing to evade justice. In fact, he knew perfectly well that in this world the idea of justice had been twisted.

"Maybe I'll start up a hospital and settle down as a doctor," Trafalgar replied with irony. "And I can see the Government and the Navy leaving me alone. No, Sengoku-san, the reality we know must first undergo a substantial change and-"

"Why won't you bring it yourself?" Sengoku asked without thinking.

The pirate stared at him in silence, totally surprised. He was clearly speechless and hadn't expected to hear something like that.

Sengoku was amazed by his words himself... but he realised it was what he really thought. Actually, he'd thought that for a longer time now. And before he managed to persuade himself he was wrong, he went on, "It's true, this world need a change," he said in a lower, pressing voice. "We, the Navy, can't do it, for our task is to protect the existing order. Yet, under the proud banner of justice, crimes, wrongdoing and wickedness still happen. Under the cover of apparent rectitude, many people still suffer. I have long since stopped believing that the World Government acts on behalf of the people. Those who gain power care only about keeping it. It's a shameful thing to say, but the Navy is a tool for it," he lowered his voice even more. "Ah, most soldiers really believe they do a right thing. They genuinely want to protect the order and consider their work as a service for people. But they must obey the orders of their superiors... and the higher you go, the thinner justice gets, treated as an excuse to every action, even those devious. People like Isshō, with clear conscience and ability to reproach for acting wrongly, are but commendable exceptions. But my words hardly come as a surprise... I'm not telling you anything new, right?"

Trafalgar didn't respond, but he was listening intently.

"Compared to some figures at the top, many pirates are innocent like new-born kittens," Sengoku added. "And maybe I'm being partial here, but I don't believe there are any _villains_ in Garp's family."

Trafalgar could point out that he had no right to deliver such opinion after he'd nearly killed Portgas D. Ace with his own hands. The pirate, however, didn't do it, and Sengoku was grateful for that. The death of his best friend's grandson - according to law, the only rightful thing - had never stopped weighing on his conscience, no matter how well it was reasoned and justified.

"I don't know Dragon," Trafalgar said, "but in Dressrosa, the Revolutionary Army fought against Doflamingo. As for his son, I regard him the most honest, the most sincere man I've even met," he added without hesitating and completely convinced. "In any case, Sengoku-san... Are you encouraging me to create a revolution?" he asked with not such a little dose of sarcasm.

Sengoku shook his head. "The pirates are few, and the revolution require many people and indisputable imperative," he said, wondering when he should end in order to not say too much. "I only want to point out that you have the better chance to discover and disclose the truth behind the creation of the World Government. The goal of the Straw Hats is One Piece, isn't it?"

Trafalgar said nothing, but something in his eyes indicated he knew well himself that One Piece and poneglyphs were connected. "In other words, you're telling me that one day I may be able to make my dream true and open the Corazon Memorial Hospital on Raftel?" he said with some absurd irony... but it seemed to Sengoku he was perfectly serious.

"Nothing is impossible," he replied with a cliché that was, in fact, one of the most basic truths. But he couldn't leave that one thing unnoticed, "Corazon Memorial Hospital? Really?"

The pirate averted his eyes, but he nodded.

Sengoku took a deep breath and raised his glass. "To that plan," he said.

Trafalgar didn't join the toast, though; instead, he got up and put his sword on his shoulder.

"Leaving already?" Sengoku asked with disappointment he wouldn't have suspected of himself only two hours ago. "The night is young... and there's enough liquor. I could tell you more, I think I still have some photos..." he tempted, before he realised it was all in vain. Even if many things had changed during this conversation, Trafalgar Law was still someone not to be influenced if he didn't want it.

"I have to go," he replied merely.

Sengoku knew it wasn't time for regret; he'd already got more he'd expected to. It was time to part honourably. "In that case, thank you for your visit," he said smoothly... and quickly, for his guest could as well vanish the next moment. "I'm glad you came to tell me about all that, to tell me about Rosinante and give me a chance to reminisce him... talk about him without hiding anything." He hesitated before adding, "I'm glad... I could see you again." _Alive, and the best proof that Rosinante's life had sense,_ he thought.

Trafalgar turned to look at him intently before averting his eyes. Then he nodded. "Thank you," he said quietly, reluctantly yet honestly... like someone who'd learned from painful experiences how to show his gratitude.

"Do come again," Sengoku offered cheerfully.

He was answered with prolonged silence, before Trafalgar said without emotions, "I'll think of it."

Sengoku smiled. "Cause if you not, I'll visit you on Raftel," he announced, adding half-jokingly, "But you have hurry a bit with changing the world, since I don't have that much time left."

The surprise was visible again on the face of 'Surgeon of Death', but then, unbelievably, Trafalgar Law smiled. It was such a little smile - just a quick stretching of lips, barely visible in the scarce light - but perfectly real. Soon enough, the young pirate's face was serious again, but Sengoku thought he could see some fire burning in his bright eyes.

"Then, I should go," Trafalgar said, and his voice was trembling with laughter, as if he'd shared the joke that might be the most genuine truth.

The next moment he was gone; he'd become one with the night, vanished as suddenly as he'd appeared, without a sound, drawing no attention... making it easy to believe he was but a figment of imagination, a dream, a vision... Sengoku, however, felt that never before was he so aware he was alive. Owing to Trafalgar Law, in just two hours, the world had changed beyond recognition; his visit had left the lasting trace on the reality. It was unexpected, shocking and, beyond doubt, good.

Sengoku leaned back and stared at the moon, that didn't stop moving across the navy blue sky. He had many things to think over and put in some order in his head, but he decided to leave it for later. At present, he just wanted to relish that warmth inside him, warmth he hadn't felt for a very long time.

He was now certain that Rosinante would live as long as Trafalgar Law, maybe even longer. He wished that the young pirate lived long... and fulfilled his dream. 'Corazon Memorial Hospital'... He knew Rosinante wouldn't want any monuments, but he deserved to be remembered nonetheless.

He drank his brandy and smiled to his thought.

'If you feel like... You may scold us on the other side.'


End file.
